24
November 2008 - Australia's eight capital
city botanic gardens will today release
a national strategy to adapt to climate
change at a meeting in Sydney of regional
and state botanic gardens.
The national plan was
endorsed by federal, state and territory
environment ministers in Adelaide on November
8.
"Australia's botanic
gardens are among the first in the world
to develop a national approach to climate
change," Federal Environment Minister
Peter Garrett said today.
Mr Garrett is responsible
for the Australian National Botanic Gardens
in Canberra, home to the country's largest
living collection of native plants, with
6,300 species, one-third of the Australian
flora and 500,000 visitors a year.
"Our botanic gardens
have a proud history, dating back to the
days when they helped the early European
settlers find food crops and ornamental
plants that would survive the harsh unfamiliar
conditions", Mr Garrett said.
"In the early twentieth
century the gardens began focusing on plant
conservation, researching threatened species,
investigating, propagation and restoration
in the wild and establishing seedbanks.
"In the face of
challenges from climate change, it is now
time to muster all their resources, skills
and activities in a coordinated strategy
to support plant conservation".
The national climate
change strategy includes:
For the first time,
prioritising and coordinating seed bank
collection - an enduring safety net for
our plant genetic resources and an investment
against species loss. What plants are most
at risk and are we saving their seeds? If
so, which garden is?
Priorities for living collections - what
are the botanic gardens growing? Who grows
what, when climate is changing and water
is scarce? Should each garden concentrate
on what is most appropriate for its climate?
A coordinated national education campaign
for the 13.4 million visitors a year.
"The botanic gardens are places of
immense knowledge about how to grow and
propagate plants, to re-introduce species
and restore ecosystems", Mr Garrett
said.
"With 150 botanic
gardens and more than 13 million visitors
a year, there is fantastic potential for
them to make a difference – from helping
people with advice about what to grow in
their own private gardens to increasing
awareness of the importance of biodiversity
and sustainable living".
To download The National
Strategy and Action Plan for the Role of
Australia's Botanic Gardens in Adapting
to Climate Change visit www.anbg.gov.au/anbg/botclimate
+ More
Federal environmental
approval for Wyaralong Dam
25 November 2008 - Environment
Minister Peter Garrett has today announced
conditional federal environmental approval
of the Wyaralong Dam in south-east Queensland.
On top of the environmental
protection requirements placed on the project
by the Queensland Coordinator-General, Mr
Garrett said he had added extra conditions
to ensure the commitments to protect matters
of national environmental significance were
implemented and monitored.
“In making my decision
I have carefully considered the environmental
impacts of the dam on those matters of national
environmental significance that are listed
and protected under the federal environmental
legislation – the Environment Protection
and Biodiversity Conservation Act,” Mr Garrett
said.
“Based on the information
and advice I have received, and with the
additional approval conditions I am imposing,
I am confident that this project can proceed
while still ensuring adequate protection
for matters protected under the Act, including
nationally listed threatened or migratory
species and the ecological character of
the internationally important Moreton Bay
Ramsar wetlands.
“In particular, my additional
conditions require the proponent to carry
out extensive monitoring of the downstream
environment, to ensure that the operation
of the dam does not impact on the Moreton
Bay wetlands.
“My responsibility under
the EPBC Act is to make decisions about
possible impacts on matters of national
environmental significance as defined by
the Act. Other environmental matters which
may be affected by the dam are the responsibility
of the Queensland Government.
“I have also taken into
account the relevant economic and social
matters and all comments received during
the assessment process. I thank those organisations
and individuals who took the time to provide
submissions.”
Mr Garrett said he and
his department had also received letters
from landholders in the Wyaralong area during
the assessment process, who had expressed
concerns about the proposal.
“I am aware of the difficulties
faced by those directly impacted by this
project, and I urge the proponent and the
Queensland Government to take all possible
steps to avoid unnecessary disruption to
the local residents and community,” he said.
Wyaralong Dam, which
will link into Queensland’s SEQ water grid,
was assessed under bilateral agreement between
the Queensland and the Australian Governments.
+ More
Solar power station
for Alice Springs
26 November 2008 - The
Federal Government will fund half of a $6.6
million solar power station to be built
in Alice Springs as part of the Australian
Government's Alice Solar City project.
Speaking at the 3rd
International Solar Energy Society conference
in Sydney the Environment Minister Peter
Garrett announced $3.3 million in Federal
funding for the project.
"The Alice Springs
Ilparpa Solar Power Station will generate
more than 1800 megawatt hours of clean energy
for the region each year, and reduce Australia's
annual greenhouse gas emissions by 1300
tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent,"
Mr Garrett said.
"It will also become
a significant landmark in the region with
twenty-six 14 metre high solar concentrating
dishes built to the south of Alice Springs
as part of the Australian Government's Solar
City program."
Australian in design,
the solar technology on display will use
dishes that track the sun throughout the
day. More than 3400m2 of mirrors will concentrate
the sunlight onto a receiver with high quality
35 per cent efficient photovoltaic cells,
similar to those used for power in space,
that directly convert sunlight into electricity.
Member for Lingiari,
the Hon. Warren Snowdon MP said this large-scale
project will soon stand in our Red Centre
as an example of Australia's commitment
to developing clean energy in the future.
"Since the election,
work has finally stepped up to truly make
Alice Springs a showcase for renewable power
generation in Australia," said Mr Snowdon.
"Only last month
the Australian Government launched the Desert
Knowledge Australia Solar Centre, our nation's
first solar technology park designed to
educate and inspire visitors on a vast array
of solar technologies.
"Visitors to the
power station will learn from the experience;
information will be available on site describing
the operation of the dishes, their electrical
output and the benefits of the Alice Solar
City.
"Solar is an abundant
source of renewable energy in Central Australia
and industry's response to the opportunities
presented by the Alice Solar City is very
exciting."
Melbourne-based 'Solar
Systems' plan to commence work on the solar
power station in mid 2009.
